Zildjian has re-introduced the K. Zildjian Constantinople series of rides and crashes, described as being mellow, dry, dark, and warm. The 22" ride comes in two versions, the medium thin "high" and the medium thin "low". We have already reviewed the high version, and now we cover the low version. The words high and low refer to the tonal balance, not the shape of the bell or curvature. They both have a nostalgia "K" sound that so many drummers, particularly jazz drummers, are looking for.

The sound is very complex, as you will hear in the sound file. It can be used as a crash, but its primary purpose is as a ride. The ping is lower pitched than the high version, but it is not really obvious unless you listen to them side by side. The same can be said of the crash and the bell. Both cymbals have a very powerful wash, which is what jazz drummers like. My personal preference is for the low version, and I use this cymbal in my kit quite often.

The close-up photo shows the deep hammering and wide, deep lathing. The bell is also lathed and has some smaller hammer marks.

The spectrum of the ping is similar to the high version, but the low version, shown below, is somewhat flatter in the 3 kHz - 15 kHz region, as the high version spectrum shows a rising slope, giving it the slightly higher pitch. After 2 seconds (yellow graph line), the sound from 3 kHz down through the lower frequencies remains at almost the same volume as the attack (purple graph line). This is the wash.

The ping attacks quickly with a rapid decay.

Click HERE to listen to an audio sample, which will include crash (when appropriate), ride, and bell sounds (these are 24 bit, 176.4 kHz wav files, so be sure your sound card is capable of handling these high resolution sound files).

If your sound card cannot play the high resolution file, click HERE to listen to an MP3 sound file.